BT dump traffic eased with loop road works

The Dart Group has agreed to improve Antone Bodden Drive looping around the heart of Bodden Town.

The road enhancement is a direct response to residents’ concerns about an influx of heavy vehicular traffic going to and from the site of the proposed solid waste facility in the district of Bodden Town, said Mark Scotland, Bodden Town MLA.

“The Antone Bodden Drive that goes behind Bodden Town will be upgraded, and all the heavy traffic will be diverted onto that road,” he said.

Maintaining that the first phase of the new landfill would not generate much extra traffic anyway – and given that Grand Cayman’s quarrying activities take place east of Bodden Town – Mr. Scotland said the planned extension of the East-West Arterial would accommodate additional traffic associated with future growth of the Bodden Town facility, as well as other projects such as Dr. Devi Shetty’s proposed medical tourism hospital.

Group opposed to landfill site

A group of citizens called the Coalition to Keep Bodden Town Dump Free has organised in opposition to the proposed landfill site, which is between Bodden Town and Breakers, near two quarries and the Midland Acres subdivision. A primary concern of the group is the impact of traffic generated by a new solid waste facility.

“How can we trust any elected representative who ignores our concerns, and ignores the already critical level of truck traffic passing along the main road through Bodden Town”, said Vincent Frederick, coalition spokesman.

“How can they claim that ‘200 vehicle trips per day’ (according to Mr. Scotland at the BT Civic centre) – so at least 400 more trucks a day when adding the return trip (empty) – is no valid reason for additional roads, or the extension of the East-West Arterial?”

Mr. Scotland disputed Mr. Frederick’s interpretation of his statement about the number of vehicle trips per day, saying that was an off-the-cuff estimate that included the roughly 12 to 20 trucks operated by the Department of Environmental Health, plus the number of private vehicles (including trucks and cars) travelling to the facility.

A significant portion of the ForCayman Investment Alliance agreement between Dart and government was approved earlier this month, involving the closing of a section of West Bay Road, extension of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway and redevelopment of the former Courtyard Marriott. The remainder of the wide-ranging agreement is still in discussions, including the remediation of the George Town Landfill and opening of the Bodden Town landfill.

Solidifying waste plans

Dart’s improvements to Antone Bodden Drive – which is about a mile or less in length – will be part of the general agreement and will encourage pass-through vehicles to take the loop rather than clogging up central Bodden Town, Mr. Scotland said.

“Every quarry in the Island is located east of Bodden Town. For every bit of road construction, every bit of building construction that takes place in the Island, all of the materials have to be brought through Bodden Town,” he said.

“By enhancing the Antone Bodden road we’re not only going to address the traffic impact from the waste management facility, we’re also going to be able to divert the heavy traffic which currently goes through Bodden Town, which is a very narrow road not conducive to that type of traffic now.”

Dart has purchased 561 acres in the area, including 110 acres earmarked for the new solid waste facility – 40 acres of which is reserved for the actual landfill, Mr. Scotland said. The Bodden Town facility will be wholly contained within that 110 acres and won’t grow beyond it in the future, he said.

“When the waste management facility is completed, it becomes a government-owned facility. We don’t own any of the other property around it, so there certainly won’t be any possibility for expansion into other areas,” he said.

Regarding the East-West Arterial expansion, the plan is that once major projects such as Shetty hospital ramp up, necessitating the new highway, government coffers will have benefitted from the increased economic activity, generating funding for the road project. The East-West Arterial expansion is not part of the general Dart agreement.

Another moving piece of the Dart landfill puzzle is a proposal to enact “environmental tort reform” legislation that would protect Dart from lawsuits while they take control of the George Town landfill remediation. The bill would have to be approved by members of the Legislative Assembly to take effect, Mr. Scotland said.

The aim of the tort reform bill will generally be so that Dart could not be sued by a landfill worker (or visitor) injured before Dart took control of the landfill. The legislation will be strictly limited to Dart in regard to the George Town landfill specifically, so that Dart cannot be held liable for events that occurred prior to the company taking control of the landfill, Mr. Scotland said.

7 COMMENTS

So Dart steps in again to help sort out issues Cayman couldn’t do themselves. He’s clearly willing to put his money where his mouth is. Yet people constantly bash him. Show me just one other developer Caymanian or Not that does as much as Dart for the Island. Given that the main concern of folks against the Dump was traffic, I can’t wait to hear what they come up with now to protest against it for. Maybe they will say that the Dump will destroy swamp land that is a natural habitat for Caymans indigenous mosquito population which is now on the endangered species list.

Regarding the Tort Bill, Smart move on his part, he shouldn’t be responsible for things that happen prior to him taking over the GT Dump, I could just see people lining up to sue him knowing they wouldn’t have had a chance suing the CIG.

Mark, we don’t need your proposals to patch things up! What we need is for you to face your constituency and talk to the people of Midland Acres and Bodden Town. Why is it you promise them no dump, and then turn your back on them to do the opposite? Why is it that you have not consulted your constituency before following a party? Who is Dart to you? You and Dwayne have alot of explaining to do! We didn’t vote you in for you to ignore our concerns and then make attempts to patch it up with some road work proposal. That is not what we voted you in for!

The Bodden town bypass or Antone Bodden Drive is to be finally to be upgraded. This road is currently chip and spray with speed bumps and so to have it finally completed to NRA standards will good. To anyone that has developed a subdivision will know the NRA require you to install deep wells and 2 asphalt wearing to meet their requirement however strangely Antone Bodden Drive which is meant to be a main road does not presently achieve this.

Mr Scotland who whilst being a local MLA for Bodden Town is also the minister for the Environment and Health as well as been the form roads Engineer for the Cayman Islands. So he should know that the Bodden Town Primary School is also on Antone Bodden Drive and the playing fields run adjacent to the road. From a road safety point of view he would know to make this route the main heavy goods access is not the wisest idea. 200 30 ton trucks racing past a primary school every day; Professional and morally he should know better.

Now letters combine this with the square T road junction not 200 yards past the school so there trucks will breaking or accelerating as they pass the school – very little thought has been put into this.Plus the World Health Organization has published concerns about the affects of soot particles from diesel fuel on the human body and as Cayman uses Power station grade of diesel it is not the cleanest about. So I wonder as Local MLA and Health Minister what he was thinking about when he suggested all trucks should pass the primary school – I guess it was not the long term affects on the health of his voters children. Also out of interest as Minister of the Environment why have you not passed the National Conversation Act as you soon where so keen on it when you were first elected or have you forgotten that now that they want to put a landfill in BT?

@ Average Joe ; That is too much thinking, who do you believe we are dealing with, Someone who cares or someone who is being led by the purse string.

Bodden Town is about the only logical place to locate the dump, but you have a very valid point in regard to the T junction and the school. They should be able to change the school entrance and place a buffer adjacent to the road but that T junction is tight..

Bringing that traffic through there will require more than a travel surface upgrade to hard ball..